SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
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History
The origin of the Seventh-Day Adventists (SDAs) can be traced to the
Millerite Movement of the 19th Century. This movement was largely
responsible for what has been called the Great second advent awakening.
William Miller (1782-1849) was a farmer who settled in upstate New
York after the war of 1812. He was originally a Deist (a person who believes
that God created the universe but has not been actively involved since).
After two years of private Bible study, Miller converted to Christianity and
became a Baptist lay leader. He was convinced that the Bible contained coded
information about the end of the world and the Second Coming of Jesus. He
also realized that he had an obligation to teach his findings to others. In
1831, he started to preach; the next year, he wrote articles about his
findings. In 1833, he published a pamphlet on end-time prophecy. In 1836, his
book Evidences from Scripture and History of the Second Coming of Christ
about the Year 1843 was published.
One of the key texts that he interpreted was in the Book of Daniel:
Daniel heard two angels talking; one asked how long it will take until the
destruction of the Temple is avenged and it is restored to its rightful
state. The other replied in Daniel 8:14
"And he said onto me, unto 2,300 days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."
Mr. Miller believed that the 2,300 days were each of one year duration and
that the interval started in 457 BCE. He concluded that the cleansing of the
temple (i.e. the Second Coming) would occur sometime between two spring
equinoxes: 1843-MAR-21 to 1844-MAR-21. He found other methods of calculating
the end time which also seemed to point to the year 1843 CE. The end didn't
happen on cue. Samuel Snow, a follower of Miller, then interpreted the
"tarrying time" referred to in Habakkuk 2:3 as equal to 7 months and 10 days,
delaying the end time to 1844-OCT-22. That prophecy also did not come to pass.
Many believers left the movement in what has become known as The Great
Disappointment. Miller himself gradually withdrew from the leadership of
the group and died in 1849. His followers called themselves Adventists;
the group was often referred to as Millerites by others.
Ellen Harmon (later known by her married name Ellen White) joined with
other Adventists and formed a small group of believers in Washington NY. She
inspired many of the followers of Miller to form a new movement in 1860 which
became known as the Seventh-Day Adventists. The church was formally
organized in 1863. She believed that the 1844 prediction was correct, but
that it referred to the start of an Investigative Judgment This is
a time when Christ will judge the dead and the living on earth for
righteousness. She predicted that this would soon be followed by the
second coming of Jesus. Late in her career, the church voted her the
credentials of an ordained minister. However, she was never actually ordained.
Victor Houteff joined the SDA church in 1919. His beliefs deviated from
main-line church doctrine. This became obvious when he wrote his book The
Shepherd's Rod in which he outlined errors that he found within the
church. He left the church and formed a new sect in 1929 that became
popularly known as the Branch Davidians. In
1992, after a long standoff with the FBI, the
Branch Davidian's compound burned down with major loss of life.
The Church Now
The SDA church has always taken a special interest in health concerns. They
have played a major role in health research into the dangers of smoking and
of diets rich in cholesterol and fats. Dr. John Kellog, founder of "Kellogg's"
and a major supplier of breakfast cereals was a well known member of the
church. They promote plans to help people quit smoking and consuming
alcohol. They sponsor cooking classes, heart disease teams, narcotics
education outreaches and disaster teams. There are 155 SDA hospitals and 276
clinics, dispensaries, etc in the world. Many congregations have a Dorcas
Society which provide food and supplies to the needy. They currently
operate 92 post-secondary institutions, almost 1000 secondary schools
and over 4000 elementary schools and kindergartens.
The SDA church is a strong supporter of the principle of separation of church
and state. They also promote religious liberty, and publish a periodical
called Liberty.
The Church has about 5 million members worldwide, with a growth rate of
about 7%. They have 795 thousand members in the US (Yearbook of American and
Canadian Churches, 1995) and 52 thousand in Canada (1991 census).
Beliefs:
Seventh-Day Adventists follow most of the beliefs of conventional
conservative Christianity: creation, the fall of mankind in the Garden of
Eden, original sin; the virgin birth; the divinity of Christ; the nature of
the Trinity; belief in Satan as a rebellious created being; the infallibility
of Scriptures as they were originally written; salvation by the atonement of
Christ, etc. However, they differ on a number of other beliefs:
- The written works by Ellen White are considered inspired by God as an
authoritative source of truth. This produced some conflict within the Church
when research in the 1980's showed that she had borrowed heavily from
contemporary writers.
- They deny the concept of "innate mortality". They believe that a person
is not naturally immortal. When a person dies, they remain unconscious until
they are resurrected. Eternal life in a new world is a gift which God will
give only to righteous Christians; the rest will be annihilated. Thus, they
do not believe that a person goes to heaven or hell immediately upon death.
- The second coming of Christ is imminent. Believers should be ready at
all times to be removed from earth to be with God in heaven; others will be
destroyed by Christ. Righteous Christians who had previously died will be
resurrected at that time and taken to heaven;. For the next 1000 years, only
Satan and his angels will be living on earth. A second resurrection will
occur at the end of that period. The righteous will then return to a cleansed
earth, and establish the New Jerusalem. The unrighteous who died before the
Second Coming will be resurrected and be consumed by fire and by God, along
with Satan and his angels. The universe will then be free of sin and sinners.
Hell exists as a lake of fire where the unrighteous are "burned up,
utterly destroyed, and cease forever to exist". Hell does not exist as a
place of eternal torment.
Practices:
- Perhaps their most obvious practice which differentiates them from many
other churches is that they continue the Old Testament practice of
observing Saturday as their Sabbath (from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset).
They accepted this from the Seventh Day Baptist church in the 19th
century. The SDA church has claimed that a Saturday Sabbath was observed
by the primitive Christian church during the first two or three centuries.
This point is debated by many others. Saturday worship has caused many
employers to discriminate against SDA members because of their refusal to
work on Saturday. On the other hand, an employee who is willing to work every
Sunday can be an advantage to some companies.
- Baptism into the church is done by full immersion. It is preceded by
instruction, a personal acceptance of the Scriptures, repentance of sins
and confession of sins.
- Members are expected to abstain from alcohol, coffee, tea and tobacco,
and every "soul-defiling habit". They have interpreted the Old
Testament dietary laws as prohibiting the eating of some foods. The church
recommended avoiding red meat for many decades before medical science caught
up with them. Many SDA member are vegetarians who supplement their diet with
eggs and milk.
- Members are expected to dress simply and watch only uplifting
entertainment. They should "shun all questionable worldly amusements such
as the theater and dance".
- Inter-faith marriages are discouraged
- Adultery is the only valid ground for divorce
- The SDA church has been quite active in the promotion of Creation Science
in opposition to the Theory of Evolution. The
Geoscience Research Institute at Loma Linda University (a SDA institution)
publishes a semi-annual periodical Origins which promotes Creation
Science
- Higher education is highly respected within the church. The rate of
college graduates in SDA membership is about twice the US national average.
Church Controversies
- The role of women: In common with many conservative Christian
churches, the question of ordination of women is actively debated within
the SDA church. The special role of the SDA founder, Ellen White, is proof
that women are able to contribute to church life. However, they have never
been allowed to be ordained as elders or pastors. This decision was
based largely on the text of 1 Corinthians 14:34-37 when St. Paul presented
as a command of God that women should keep quiet in church, and
remain subordinate. In 1 Timothy 2:12A, he said that no woman was to teach
or have authority over a man; she is to remain silent. As in other
denominations, the debate concentrates on whether these were commands for
the first century church in the Mediterranean region, or for all times and
cultures.
The North American Division (NAD) of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church
proposed to the 1995 General Conference in Utrecht, Netherlands that female
ordination be allowed. The proposal was defeated by a vote of 1481 to 673. A
few NAD congregations went ahead and ordained women pastors in spite of
the decision.
- Homosexuality: The church's stand is that the Bible consistently
condemns homosexuality as a sin. Gay candidates
are not permitted to be ordained as pastors.
SDA Kinship International is an organization which is completely
independent of the SDA church. It was founded in 1976 and has over 1000
members: gays, lesbians, their parents, friends and supporters. They believe
that:
- God loves and accepts gays and lesbians as they are
- The Bible does not "condemn, or even mention homosexuality as a
sexual orientation"
- Ellen White's writings do not "parallel any of the Bible Texts which
are often used to condemn homosexuals"
- sexual orientation is unchangeable
- Cult Status: Several prominent theologians, including ex-members
of the Seventh-Day Adventists, have stated in the past that the SDA church
is a cult. In doing this, they do not imply that
the church is a mind control cult or a doomsday cult, but simply that some of their beliefs
deviate from those of traditional, conservative Christianity. Some attackers
have quoted isolated writings of some members of the church and incorrectly
asserted that the thoughts represented official church doctrine. Some of the
criticisms include:
- that the writings of Mrs. White are considered on a par with those of
the bible: inspired by God and infallible
- that the SDA church bases some of its doctrine on the writings of
Mrs. White
- that the atonement of Christ was not finished at crucifixion
None of the above criticisms are valid. Most Christians and Christian
organizations now regard the Seventh Day Adventist church simply as a
non-cultic denomination with some unique beliefs (8).
SDA Conscientious Objectors
Many Seventh-Day Adventists refuse to enter the army as combatants, but
participate as medics, ambulance drivers, etc. During World War II in
Germany, many SDA conscientious objectors were sent to concentration camps
or mental institutions; some were executed.
Some Seventh-Day Adventists volunteered for the US Army's Operation
Whitecoat. The Church preferred to call them "conscientious participants",
because they were willing to risk their lives as test subjects in potentially
life-threatening research. Over 2,200 Seventh-Day Adventists volunteered in
experiments (14) involving various infectious agents during the 1950's
through the 1970's in Fort Detrick, MD.
Return to the OCRT home page; return to the
Description of Religions page.
Books in Print about SDA
- Roy Adams, "The Sanctuary: Understanding the Heart of Adventist
Theology", Review & Herald Pub Assn., (1994)
- Everett N. Dick, "William Miller and the Advent Crisis 1831-1844,
Andrews Univ Press (1994)
- Madlyn Hamblin, "In the Wake of Waco: Why Were Adventists Among the
Victims?", Review & Herald Pub Assn., (1993)
- Erwin Gane & Leo Van Dolson, "This We Believe: An Overview of the
Teachings of Seventh-Day Adventists", Pacific Pr Pub Assn., (1993)
- George R. Knight, "Anticipating the Advent : A Brief History of
Seventh-Day Adventists", Pacific Pr Pub Assn., (1993)
- Mikhail Kulakov, "God's Soviet Miracles: How Adventists Built the
First Protestant Seminary in Russian History", Pacific Pr Pub Assn., (1993)
- Gary Land, "The World of Ellen G. White", Review & Herald Pub
Assn., (1987)
- Walter Martin, "The Kingdom of the Cults", Bethany House Pub,
(1985), P. 409-500.
- C. Mervyn, "Magnificent Disappointment : What Really Happened in
1844...and Its Meaning for Today", Pacific Pr Pub Assn. (1994)
- Ronald L. Numbers, "The Disappointed : Millerism and Millenarianism
in the Nineteenth Century", Univ. of Tennessee Press, (1993)
- Helmut Orr, "Perfect in Christ: The Mediation of Christ in the
Writings of Ellen G. White", Review & Herald Pub Assn., (1987)
- Michael Pearson, "Millennial Dreams and Moral Dilemmas: Seventh-Day
Adventism and Contemporary Ethics", Cambridge Univ. Press (1990)
- William Shurtleff, "Bibliography and Sourcebook on Seventh-Day
Adventists' Work With Soyfoods, Vegetarianism, and Wheat Gluten, 1866-1992
", Soyfoods Center (1992)
- Allen R. Steele, "Loud Let It Ring : Adventist World Radio:
Twenty-Five Years of Miracles, Pacific Pr Pub Assn., (1996)
- U.S. Government, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Is Military Research
Hazardous To Veterans' Health?; Lessons Spanning Half a Century", 103rd
Congress, 2nd Session, Committee Print S. Prt. 103-97, (1994-DEC), Section C.
- Ellen Gould Harmon White & Phyllis C. Bailey, "The Quote Book : Gems
from the Pen of Ellen G. White", (1994)
- "Seventh Day Adventist Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition", Review & Herald
Pub Assn., (1995)
Internet Resources
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Description of Religions page.